Now that I got your attention with that epic title for my blog today, I have a few questions to ask you:

When you think of God, what do you think?

If you were to describe God, how would you describe him?

If you were to talk about His personality, what would you say?

If I were to ask you how He makes you feel, what would your answer be?

These questions have been rolling around in my mind the last few days. It was spurred on by a movie I watched that discussed God. It discussed how different people see God in many different ways, but very rarely do we see God as loving.

The Bible clearly says that He is Love. That He is the best dad anyone could ask for (of course that is my paraphrase). It says He gives good gifts to His children. It says He watches over us every minute of everyday. It says that He makes a way for us where we seem to have lost our way. He sings over us. He dances over us. Above all, He loves us so deeply and so much more than we can imagine.

Here is where things seem to have gone wrong. It seems that we have bought this belief that all of the above MAY be true but ONLY if we are living an absolutely perfect life. We believe that only when we have every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed can we receive the love that God has for us.

I am probably putting words in God’s mouth (okay I am) when I say this but I am sure this makes Him sad.

I think of a natural father who from the moment his child is born, everything in his life changes. He suddenly becomes a defender, a protector, a help, a strength, and God help the person who tries to hurt his baby in any way. He becomes proud of every achievement, every minor detail, and every milestone. He becomes sad with every cry and pained with every hurt or worried about any illness. He provides for his children. He would lay down his life for his child.

The Bible says that He is that kind of Father but yet so much more. So when did our thinking change? When did we start thinking that God’s love was conditional?

Unconditional means with no conditions or limitations: complete or guaranteed, with no conditions, limitations, or provisos attached.

That is exactly what God’s love is toward us. His love is limitless, its guaranteed.

We have to get back to the understanding of the Love of the Father. We need to come to terms that there is nothing that can separate us from this Love.

Do you think you need to believe in God to be loved by him?
NOPE.
Do you think you need to be living a perfect life to be loved by him?
NOPE

Do you think you need to be a church goer to be cared for and watched over by him?

NOPE

This isn’t just something I believe, this is what the BIBLE says. So the beauty of this is that whether or not you believe in the same thing I do or not… the truth of the matter is that you are just plain and simply LOVED, CARED FOR, WATCHED OVER.

As Christians I feel we have walked away from this fundamental principle that is laid out hundreds of times in the Bible. That we are loved. Just that simple. You are loved. You are loved. You are loved.

As I began this deep thought process of God’s love I could feel my head spinning at times. This love is so deep that really its hard to wrap your mind around.

We really need to get back to this. We need to search our hearts and see where our belief lies. Is it in the unconditional love of God or is it in an angry God who places conditions on his love depending on how well we measure up to him.

The reality is that this belief affects everything. It affects the way we worship. It affects how we pray. It affects our time spent with him (if we even end up spending time with him), it affects how we see other people. It affects how we see ourselves.

I say that because why on earth would we get excited about worshipping someone who we think doesn’t really like us that much. Why would we want to spend time with someone who we think is judging our every step and why in the world would we want to tell people about God or spread that kind of love with anyone.

I guess what I am saying is we need to search our hearts, search what it is we believe, because what we believe is going to spill out into our everyday lives. I could tell you this until I am blue in the face that God loves you, but if you don’t believe it, then it can’t change you and what you believe will spill out into your everyday life.

We can’t affect a city for God if we actually believe that God is a jerk. People don’t want that God and in all actuality that’s the God they have been rejecting for years.

The world is harsh and hurtful. They don’t need more judgement. We don’t need more judgement. We need to know the real tangible love of God.

If I could tell you anything today it would be this: You are loved. There is no set of strange rules you have to obtain to be accepted by Him. There is nothing more and nothing less that you could do to change the way He feels about you. This love is real. It’s not a myth. Stop, please stop, trying to earn His love. That’s exhausting. Just breathe, relax, and accept this simple truth: God is love. It’s who He is.

 

Here is a reminder and some proof for you about what the Bible says on God’s love for you:

Romans 8:38

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:  I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus has embraced us.